Cubapop
Life, Culture and Travels from the perspective of a Cuban
Toronto is Waving the Rainbow Flag
Categories: TorontoNTERO

Summer is the best time to visit Toronto. There is not enough time to cover all the city events, from Luminato to the Beaches Jazz Fest, it becomes overwhelming. Sometimes the events are happening at the same time and you have to quickly decide what to attend.

One of the events or celebration that called my attention the most when I moved to Canada was the Pride Week. For the first time I was able to watch a parade, to see rainbow flags in store windows and even at the office. I thought of all my gay friends in Havana (a friend of mine thinks I am a fag hag) and how much they would have loved to party on Church St.

In Toronto I was the first time I saw buttless leather pants in the middle of the winter or two girls kissing and hugging on public transportation, like only straight couples do in Cuba. I am sure that this can be found in different parts of the world but because I moved to Toronto I felt proud to live in a city more liberal than my home town.

I still think I do not mention it enough but when you see the same-sex marriage world map there is not a lot of colour there. Well, I am very happy to see Canada on the list and hope that more countries like UK do what France recently did.

Maybe because I have friends who have been going through a tough process getting out the closet with their families, people out there and even themselves I feel how important it is to support them.

The fight for equality is not ending yet. In Canada the law is on your side, you cannot discriminate anyone based on their sexual preference but since our society is a melting pot of different cultures and religions you do have some resistance from some newcomers or citizens who do think and sometimes even state that homosexuality is not normal and in their countries it does not “exist”(?) at all.

Sad enough, being a straight person I have heard opinions from people who wanna make me wrap on a rainbow flag to shut them up once and for all. The law is not everything, it is also changing people’s understanding what makes us evolve.

If you are in the city, this is the weekend to join the Pride party. On Sunday, I will go out on Church St. to have at least one beer and to celebrate for all my friends and the friends I never met like Lorca, Reinaldo Arenas, Virgilio Pinera…

Cheers!

The Cuban Fag Hag 😉

 


Also published on Medium.

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